The Sierra Club is honored to present the 2025 Political Leadership Award to California Attorney General Rob Bonta for his strong record on the environment, especially regarding environmental justice and climate change.
Attorney General Rob Bonta has shown a clear understanding of the climate crisis as an actual crisis that requires ongoing collaborative action within and outside California no matter what is going on at the federal level. He has been a strong supporter of environmental justice and believes it is up to the states to step up to continue to emphasize the importance of environmental justice in the consideration of environmental policies. He stands ready to defend the Coastal Commission and any other attempts to tie FEMA recovery money to changes in environmental laws. He has continued to be a leader in the fight against the federal government’s attempt to weaken environmental laws and regulations, not just in California but nationwide. As noted in a March 31, 2025, Los Angeles Times article, entitled California vs. Trump: What it’s like to be the attorneys on the front lines: “In the first eight weeks of the current administration, Bonta’s office joined other states in filing eight legal actions, a pace that if maintained would lead to more than 100 lawsuits against the new administration in its first two years. And that’s not counting filings in support of other lawsuits, of which there have been at least a half-dozen.”
Mr. Bonta was elected to represent the 18th district in the California State Assembly in the 2012 election. He was reelected in the 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2020 elections. His Sierra Club scorecard was 89% or above for 7 years. In 2021, Governor Gavin Newsom appointed him as Attorney General of California to succeed Xavier Becerra, who became Secretary of Health and Human Services under President Joe Biden. Mr. Bonta was reelected in 2022.
Join us at the 2025 Political Leadership Awards and celebrate (insert name of honoree) and other environmental champions who are standing up for democracy and a sustainable future for our planet. Get your tickets here.
